With driving season over, it was time to work on making the CRX Road Race worthy. There are various safety requirements I needed to meet in order to run on the track. One of the biggest issues was the fuel cell. We had to replace the aluminum can with a proper, safe fuel cell.
First, we removed the old fuel "cell" which wasn’t much more than an aluminum box with some fittings welded to it. The cell was held in with 1" thick steel straps bolted through the car's sub frame. Not the safest thing ever. After putting the old cell on craigslist, it didn't take long to sell it. I even gave the new owner a fuel level gauge and an extra sending unit for the cell.
We ordered a new 12 gallon ATL fuel cell, and, after a couple damaged shipments, we got started. First we measured things and made sure the cell would fit in the car in a safe location, which meant sitting higher than the lowest parts of the car. We constructed a cage that fit around the cell and allowed the cell to be bolted in place. We welded the cage together and mounted it in the car.
The fuel cell barely fit between the mounting cage and the roll cage sideways, then it could be rotated and lowered into place. We drilled and tapped holes in the mounting cage so the fuel cell would bolt in place using its existing hardware and torqued all of the hardware down.
That is all for this issue of CRX Road to Racing. Check back soon!